***
The next day was the first day of the Spring Festival. On that day, Chaeyoung and Lisa were going to have a family dinner, spending the majority of the day at Wang Estate, together with both of their families.
Chaeyoung watched as everyone was happily having dinner, laughing and talking about the different stuff happening lately in the family. That was until she remembered about the traitor that Claire had mentioned. She said that someone wanted to get rid of her. However, Claire did not know why.
But Chaeyoung guessed that her mother was lying to her. She thought that Claire knew the exact reason, yet, she did not want to inform her. Chaeyoung wondered what could have been the reason that someone close to Claire wanted to kill her.
"By the way, Chae... some of your mother's friends will visit tomorrow. They were her classmates at high school. They just arrived from abroad and want to meet you." Jackson smiled at her.
Chaeyoung just nodded at Jackson's words. Friends? She had never heard her mother mention her friends, both in her past and present lives.
"Where are they from?" She asked, curious about these people's identities.
"Only two people came, both of them were your mother's best friends at high school. But they have married someone out of this country. They are both living in Luxembourg now with their families."
Chaeyoung raised an eyebrow at Jackson. "Luxembourg? Huh? Then, what are they doing here now?"
"Well... I guess, they just want to see you? After all, you are their best friend's only daughter."
Once again, Chaeyoung nodded.
"Oh, I forgot.. they will be coming with their son and daughter I think. You should meet them and maybe get close to them... I've heard they are really nice and intelligent. They are also here to visit their friend who is known in the acting industry. I think she was a manager or something... I forgot, but they even asked if you can tour them around the city."
Chaeyoung did not answer her uncle. Her mind can't help but revolved around her uncle's words. Luxembourg, her mother's classmates, who she did not even know, with their kids.
This should be interesting.
"So, are you going to accompany them tomorrow? You can visit your mother's grave together." Jackson asked.
"Sure," she answered nonchalantly.
...
The day ended happily for Chaeyoung and Lisa, both of them had the time to bond with their families. Though the occasional teasing about having a grandchild was there, both of them just laugh it off. After all, they were both young and still had a lot of enemies. They thought that it was not the right time for a child yet. They wanted to protect their own child, and the fact that their enemies were still hidden, waiting to strike anytime, was not really a good thing for them.
That night, however, Chaeyoung received a very strange phone call from Jennie.
"What's wrong?" She asked after Jennie updated her on what had happened that day. According to Jennie's story, it was fun and she had really enjoyed talking to her relatives. Yet, Chaeyoung sensed that something was wrong.
"I'm not sure if I have mentioned this to you before, but I had met a guy in Japan. Just outside our office. I was with Long Die... He was... was really nice and handsome." Jennie stated. "I really thought he is nice..."
"So? If you like him then what's the problem?"
"I meet him again today."
Her words instantly made Chaeyoung froze. Was it another coincidence?
"What happened?" She asked.
"He came here with his family and had dinner with my relatives. They told me he is a family friend." Chaeyoung heard Jennie sigh. "I think they have bad motives."
"You think so?"
"Think about it Chaeng, that man approached me first in Japan. I am not that dumb to think that it was a coincidence. He even left when he saw Long Die coming. Aside from that, we only met at the doughnut store. I have never seen him anywhere else, aside from that place. What if he was there to purposely approach me?"
This was not about Jennie being too paranoid, it was her, not being dumb. She was able to analyze everything just based on her instinct. She always felt that something was wrong when the Main Family invited her family. Now, her suspicion was getting stronger and stronger.
"Don't worry about it. I already have a plan to get you and your family out of the country if something goes wrong." Chaeyoung said. "If worse comes to worst, I will get you out of there myself."
Jennie let out another sigh. "Chaeng, I didn't mean to worry you. I'm sorry."
"Stop talking about it. We are friends... By the way... tell me the name of the guy that you mentioned." She answered.
"Kai Zhang."
"Got it. Call me if something goes wrong." After Chaeyoung ended the call with Jennie, she immediately checked out the information about the Kim and the Zhang Families. To her surprise, both of these families were somehow connected to the Jia Family in Luxembourg.
According to her research, the Zhang and Kim Families were both connected by marriage to the Jia Family. They were some of the most prominent families in Luxembourg as some of them held a high position in the Government. The Jia family was one of the closest and most loyal families to the Lee Family and to the Monarch. If she was right, then that Zhang Family was up to no good. They might even offer marriage to Jennie, just to tie her to Luxembourg.
On top of that, Chaeyoung also remembered her uncle mention 'Zhang' family name to her grandfather. If she heard it correctly, then her mother's classmate was married to someone with surname 'Zhang'.
Chaeyoung instantly understood that this was not a coincidence. She was sure, there was an underlying plan behind all of this. However, she could only plan ahead and be prepared for what was yet to come.
"What did you found out?" Lisa asked.
Chaeyoung instantly told Lisa about her findings of the Zhang Family.
"We actually have some connections in Luxembourg. We can use them to safely get Jennie out of the country."
"Really?" She beamed.
"Of course. You can use them whenever you want. I will talk to Jin so he can contact them."
"Thank you," she said before hugging Lisa.
"Just let me handle it. You can relax and prepare yourself for your visitors tomorrow."
"They want to visit my mother's grave," she stated. "I'm sure they are planning something and I already don't like it."
"Do you want me to accompany you?" Lisa asked. Chaeyoung informed her a while ago, that it's okay if she didn't accompany her during her meeting with her mother's friends.
"No... I'm fine. They can't bully me in my own country. You know that!"
Thinking about the Zhang Family members that were going to visit tomorrow, instantly made Chaeyoung smirk. Lisa was right. She needed to prepare a good show for them.
....
Meanwhile, inside a luxurious hotel in Luxembourg, a beautiful woman in her fifties was elegantly drinking her wine while listening to the report of a man, who was wearing a black suit.
"Are you sure that she has declined the offer?"
"Yes, Madam."
"How about the Prime Minister? Did he sent someone?"
"He has sent Mr. Jia, but Miss Park Chaeyoung still declined."
"Good. Very Good. She can't come to this country. Make sure to monitor all her moves." She said solemnly. Chaeyoung was a threat to the Zhou Family. If she set foot in Luxembourg, then she could only face death. She and the whole Zhou Family would make sure of that.
"Understood." The man bowed before leaving the woman alone.
....
Seoul, Korea.
The second day of the Spring Festival was usually spent, going to friends and visiting the cemetery. Chaeyoung had already planned to go there to disguise the fact that Claire was still alive. However, for some reason the thought of her, going to her mother's grave, when she was still alive made her uncomfortable.
Her mother's classmates would arrive in Seoul exactly at nine in the morning. Afterward, they would immediately head to Wang Estate to meet with Chaeyoung. They planned to have lunch together and then, Chaeyoung was going to take them to her mother's grave, containing her 'ashes'. After that, she was going to take everyone for a tour around the city.
Her uncle told her that there would be five people coming in total. Two of them were Claire's friends, and the rest were their children. Chaeyoung had heard that those two women were twins and were Claire's best friends at high school. But Chaeyoung was actually not sure about that since she couldn't remember Claire mention those events both before and after her rebirth.
Moreover, one of them was married with someone from the Zhang Family. Which was already like a big warning for Chaeyoung.
Chaeyoung looked at her laptop once again before checking the time. It was eight thirty in the morning. Her mother's friends were going to arrive at any moment. She let out a sigh before sending an encrypted message to Long Die.
Because of Henry Lee, Chaeyoung was very careful, dealing with Long Die's secret identity. Chaeyoung was almost a hundred percent sure that Henry Lee was monitoring her every move and maybe, trying to hack into her phone and computer as well.
Chaeyoung let out another sigh when she thought about Henry Lee. His silence was not helping Chaeyoung at all. She was only getting more worried, thinking that he was cooking up another plan to hurt her again.
After a short while, Chaeyoung received an encrypted email from Long Die. She hurriedly deciphered the message and instantly narrowed her eyes at her mother's reply.
It only contained four words, yet it already told her everything that she wanted to know.
*Not Good. Stay Safe.*
Chaeyoung and Claire's online conversations were just like that: brief and essential. They couldn't risk triggering suspicions from anyone who wanted their lives.
She then immediately closed the message and clenched her teeth. So, the twins that her uncle was talking about were not her mother's friends. Chaeyoung wondered what could be the purpose of their visit then.
Were they here to show her that they were watching her family? Or maybe, they were here to threaten her with her loved ones? She thought about all the information that she had gathered so far and opened a new window that showed the Prime Minister and the King's faces.
Surely, those were not their real faces. As her mother once told her-never trust public reports.
Moreover, she had also told her that her father was Henry Lee's twin, and none of those two men looked exactly like Henry. Chaeyoung also took into account the fact that Claire didn't have any idea who her father was when they first met.
All of that, somehow, made Chaeyoung curious about her father's true identity. Why would he constantly use another person's face? Did he deliberately lure Wang Claire into falling for him? What were his motives?
The more Chaeyoung thought, the more she got confused. She understood that her mother was afraid of the person who had tried to kill her. But Chaeyoung felt something was still off. As if Claire was hiding from someone stronger, than the person who had tried to kill her. Someone more ferocious.
"Young Miss, the master is calling you. He said your visitors are here." Chaeyoung heard a knock, followed by the attendant's voice.
"I'm coming." Chaeyoung answered, waking up Lisa in the process.
"They are already here?" Lisa stifled a yawn. The last night's activities made her exhausted.
"Yes." She nodded.
"I'm coming with you."
"I'll go ahead. Just follow me when you're ready." Chaeyoung said before giving Lisa a kiss and making her way out of her room.
'I can't wait to see the show that these people have prepared for me,' she thought as she made her way into the entertaining area of the mansion.
She instantly put on a beautiful smile when she arrived at the area.
Chaeyoung looked at everyone in the room and was somehow surprised to see that there were six people instead of five. A man seemingly in his fifties, who she did not recognize, was with them.
'Who can this be?' She wondered.
"Oh, look at her... She looks exactly like Claire." One of the women almost squealed as she walked towards Chaeyoung, then gave her a tight hug. "I am your aunt Dara Chen. Oh my... you are even more beautiful than your mother!"
"You are right! Claire must have been so proud to have such a daughter!" Another woman, who didn't even have any resemblance with Dara added. Then, she made her way to Chaeyoung and hugged her after Dara. "My name is Sara Chen, I am Dara's twin sister. You can call me Aunt Sara."
"Nice to meet you. I am..."
"Oh, we already know who you are, dear. Is it alright if we call you Little Chae?" Dara smiled amiably.
"No problem." She nodded.
"Oh, you should meet our children too..." Sara dragged her towards the three young people, accompanying them. "This is my daughter, Nayeon and..." she pointed at the mature man, who had caught Chaeyoung's attention earlier. "My husband, Nathan."
Then, she pointed at the handsome, tall guy, whose nose was a little crooked. "This is Dara's son, Kai and his sister, Seulgi Zhang. They are both models and well-known personalities in Luxembourg."
"Mom... you are embarrassing us." The woman, named Nayeon mumbled, then blushed. "Miss Chaeyoung Park is obviously more beautiful than both of us combined"
"Haha... That is so true... Thank you." Chaeyoung beamed at Nayeon's words, instantly making everyone speechless and awkward. This Chaeyoung was.... a little shameless, eh?
Of course, Chaeyoung was doing it intentionally, to make everyone uncomfortable. Why should she waste her time when she could start the show the moment she met them? She knew that those people where up to no good. So, she could only reciprocate their motives and show ill intent as well.
'Not that they can do something about it,' Chaeyoung thought while laughing inwardly.
"Hahaha... This child is very amusing. Jackson... you didn't mention that she has a great sense of humor as well." Dara smiled before walking back to her seat.
"Chaeyoung is naturally like this... she is such a sweetheart." Jackson smiled at them while eyeing Chaeyoung. He couldn't understand why was Chaeyoung making them uncomfortable all of a sudden when she had agreed to be amicable with them the other night?
"Uncle, who is joking? Are you saying that I am ugly?" Chaeyoung pouted. That was exactly what she was good at, acting and making people think that she was stupid. After all, those people's agenda should include observing her behavior too.
"What are you talking about? Of course, you are the prettiest." Jackson only smiled and shook his head. Chaeyoung was extremely smart, so she must have noticed that something was not right with those people. Otherwise, why would she act that way?
"As expected, you are my best uncle ever." Chaeyoung smiled before sitting next to Jackson. Then, she turned to look at Dara and Sara, who were sitting just across her. "You guys arrived really early. I hope you didn't have a hard time during the flight."
"Of course not... Everything was fine." Sara answered. "I heard that you are already an accomplished businesswoman... Your mother must have been so proud!" She added.
Although her words were extremely sweet and friendly, Chaeyoung did not miss the flash of anger in her eyes when she said Claire's name. She couldn't help but wonder what was that woman's true affiliations with her mother. Moreover, Chaeyoung also noticed that the man, who they introduced as Sara's husband, seemed to be staring at her in a very weird way.
"Yes, she should be." Chaeyoung answered proudly. Of course, Claire was very proud of her. She always told her about that since they reunited.
Once again, everyone became awkward at Chaeyoung's words. How come this woman was so proud and arrogant? Who did she think she was?
"Hahahaha... you are indeed very funny. Just like what I expected from my best friend's child." Dara laughed, however, her eyes said a different thing. Inwardly, she was not happy at all, in fact, she was fuming. She was here to observe Chaeyoung. Their Queen had tasked her to observe Chaeyoung. Yet, that woman was just too cunning.
She needed to know the real Chaeyoung.
"Why don't you take them for a walk in the garden at the back of the estate, Little Chae?" Jackson asked, hoping to ease the tension. "We still have a lot of time before lunchtime. Why don't you show them Tae's archery field? Speaking of him... do you know where he is?"
"No idea, Uncle... Why don't you go find him, while I am showing them the practice field, as well as the gardens?" She smiled.
Jackson just nodded before excusing himself, as Chaeyoung led the group to the back of the estate. Chaeyoung might look confident on the outside, but she was very uncomfortable on the inside. That Nathan man was staring at her like he knew what she was thinking about all this time.
Just who was that man?
"Wow! I love that! I didn't realize that there are flowers that could still survive even when it's winter!" Nayeon beamed at the flowers in front of her. Chaeyoung was currently giving them a tour around the garden located at the back of the Wang Estate.
At first, no one expected that there would be such a beautiful garden here. After all, it was still winter. No one would have thought that the Wang's would actually employ frost protection techniques on their garden.
"Those are pansies, they were my mother's favorite." Chaeyoung lied. She wanted to see if these people even knew her mother.
"I thought so! That's why they looked familiar! I remember how your mother loved flowers when we were young." Chaeyoung laughed inwardly at Dara's words. Now, she was able to confirm that these people did not really know her mother.
"Yes. You are right. My mother absolutely loved flowers. This was my mother's garden back when she was still young. That's the reason why Grandfather and Uncle did not stop taking care of this garden," she stated another lie. She wanted to determine the extent of familiarity between these people and her mother.
"I remember her gushing over this garden before." Sara answered.
Chaeyoung only nodded while silently sneering in her mind. Garden? Her mother loved paintings and music, not gardens. Although she likes flower, it was not to the point of gushing over some garden.
In fact, this garden only existed after Claire's supposed death.
"We are here. Please take a seat." Chaeyoung gestured for everyone to take their seats when they arrived at the brick patio near the gardens.
This is the most beautiful part of the Wang Estate. Not just because of the flowers that were surrounding the area but also because of the man-made waterfall that was delicately arranged by a professional designer as well as the dozens of beautiful trees and shrubs that were planted to highlight the lake that was connected to the waterfall in the middle of the garden.
"Are these all man-made?" Nayeon asked after taking her seat.
"Yes. My grandfather did all this for my mother," she answered before pointing to the trees. "That part contains Taehyung's archery field. He uses that area to practice martial arts as well."
"Oh, my daughter, Seulgi, was a champion in archery when she was still in high school. Isn't that right Seulgi?" Dara proudly said, carefully observing Chaeyoung's reaction.
"Oh, I am not a fan of archery." Chaeyoung laughed as she watched the mansion's servants serve the snacks and beverages. Then she beamed when she saw Lisa approaching them. "Oh, everyone, I want you to meet my fiancée, Lalisa Manoban."
Everyone then turned their head towards Lisa and watched her stride towards Chaeyoung and kiss her in front of them.
"Aiyah, what a beautiful couple." Sara said.
Chaeyoung then introduced everyone to Lisa, including Nayeon and Seulgi who were staring at Lisa as if they would devour her at any moment.
"So you are also a CEO?" Nayeon asked, her eyes full of adoration. The woman in front of them was just too beautiful. Lisa was the most beautiful creature that she had seen in her life thus far.
"Yes, I am." Lisa answered before sitting down next to Chaeyoung and pouring her a cup of tea.
"Miss Park is indeed very lucky. She is not only so beautiful but she also has a woman like you next to her." Seulgi interjected, making everyone nod their heads in agreement.
After a few more trivial conversations, Chaeyoung already felt bored talking to everyone. The Chen sisters just kept on praising Chaeyoung while their children, specifically Nayeon and Seulgi, were both showing interest in Lisa. Not that Chaeyoung cared about flies like them. However, she was getting irritated by the unusual way that Sara's husband was staring at her as well as Kai's subtle words that implied that he was better than Lisa.
Chaeyoung felt that this family was very unusual. For some reason, they seemed as if they were not even related and were just following a script, trying to irritate her and make her jealous.
Maybe it's time to send them a warning, no?
"Oh, why don't we do something else? I mean, you should enjoy yourselves while you are in the country. Since it's not yet lunchtime, why don't we watch Miss Seulgi do some archery? After all, she is an expert!" Chaeyoung smiled at them.
"That would be lovely! Go on Seulgi, why don't you show us your talent in archery?" Dara mused, obviously proud of her daughter's achievement.
Seulgi lowered her head and blushed before sending a side-eye glance towards Lisa. However, seeing that Lisa was not even paying attention when her mother was speaking, Seulgi instantly felt disappointed. Lisa showed no interest when her mother mentioned that she was very talented in archery. Instead Lisa was using her hands to comb Chaeyoung's hair and only paid attention to what she was saying.
Is this woman really so infatuated with Chaeyoung that she would not even watch a good show put on by a beautiful woman such as herself?
....